You're listening to an AirWave Media Podcast.

Hello, and welcome to the Explorers Podcast.

Today is Part 5 in our series on Ibn Batuta.

Two notes for today.

First, there are multiple maps on our website,

Explorerspodcast.com if you want to see Ibn Batuta's route.

And second, if I sound different, that is because I have updated by podcasting gear and my podcasting space.

This was a big deal for me, but I know it was needed.

This should fix my problem of too much echo.

I hope you like the new sound.

Anyhow, that is it for notes.

Let's get going.

Last time, we left Ibn Batuta after he had crossed the Western Himalayan Mountains

and reached the Indus River in modern-day Pakistan.

A decade earlier, a mystic had predicted that he would reach India,

and that prediction had come true.

Ibn Batuta was a very different man than when we kicked off our series in Episode 1.

He was around 30 years old, and he had grown wealthy on his travels.

He had with him friends and companions, servants, slaves, and concubines.

He had horses, camels, and expensive clothing, marking him as an important person.

When he arrived in India, he was a more experienced and confident man.

He had with him advisors who spoke the local languages and knew the region's customs.

...